"This is Rare Disease Week and I learned the hard way . that most medical folks haven t encountered them and simply won’t be able to help when issues arise."
Updated
5 days ago
Alice in Wonderland syndrome is extremely rare but it s real and I have it.
By Kristie Smith, Guest Writer
Ji Sub Jeong/HuffPost
The first time I saw one of my monsters, I was in my early 30s.
A few weeks earlier, a burst of eye floaters, sparkles and squiggly lines filled my visual fields. Not only was I becoming sick ― experiencing nausea, stomach pain, loss of vision and extreme fatigue ― I was also worrying about my mental stability.
My first monster was quick! He was large and extremely colorful. He disappeared within one second. “Am I dreaming?” I wondered after seeing him.
Problems with the cardiovascular system can show themselves in a lot of different ways.
One person in the U.S. will die from cardiovascular disease every 36 seconds, making it one of the leading causes of death for Americans. Additionally, roughly 655,000 Americans die from heart complications each year which breaks down to one in every four deaths.
While these stats are alarming, it’s more alarming that many people are totally unaware of the small, insidious signs that could indicate cardiovascular issues.
“Many people look to chest pain as a warning sign of cardiovascular disease,” said Mariko Harper, a physician in Seattle who specializes in cardiovascular disease, nuclear cardiology and echocardiography. But, he added, “While more than one-half of people present with chest discomfort when they are having a heart attack, up to one-third of patients especially women don’t have any chest symptoms at all. They may present with more atypical or subtle symptoms.”